HEALTH DEPARTMENT: OFFICE CONSOLIDATION

Problem Identification:The Department’s office space at 1211 Wall Street in Federal Hill is underutilized. The Departmental operations located at this site are administrative and involve little to no interaction with the public.

Recommended Action:Relocate services in the Department’s Federal Hill facility to available underutilized space in its Druid Hill facility. This action will make the Federal Hill site available for public sale and generate private or commercial development.

Classification:Cost Savings, Revenue Enhancement

Functional/Operational Area:Departmental administrative functions

Estimated Annual Impact:$400,000 – $500,000 (nonrecurring)

Estimated Implementation Costs:
$50,000 – $75,000 for moving expenses

Barriers to Implementation:Other City departments might wish to utilize this highly desirable piece of real estate.

Projected Implementation:180 days

Next Steps:Determine the actual cost to relocate the impacted Departmental operations to the Druid Hill facility, perform the necessary fit-out to utilize the space available in the Druid Hill facility, and initiate all necessary processes to accomplish the sale of the vacated City building.

Analysis:Every City department must regularly evaluate its office space needs. The report of the Department of Public Works study of the Greater Baltimore Committee/ Presidents’ Roundtable Management and Efficiency Review includes a number of recommendations related to reducing the City’s portfolio of real estate assets and related building costs (energy, security, etc.). In the case of the Health Department’s operations at 1211 Wall Street, these functions can be provided from another Departmental location, specifically the facility in Druid Hill.

An independent real estate analysis of the 1211 Wall Street building produced an estimated value of this facility at $34 per square foot or $402,000. This model, however, assumes that the building would be leased after being vacated by the Department. Were the building to be sold and redeveloped for residential purposes (considering the ever-increasing value of residential property in this area of the city), the sale value could be even higher. Not included in the fiscal impact are other savings such as reduced utility and building services costs.